1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner. More particularly, the present invention relates to a dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner for separating contaminants from drawn-in air.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a vacuum cleaner is an apparatus for cleaning a surface by drawing in contaminants on the surface being cleaned along with ambient air and separating the contaminants from the drawn-in air. Such a vacuum cleaner comprises a dust collecting apparatus for collecting the contaminants separated from the drawn-in air. Recently, a cyclone dust collecting apparatus for separating contaminants from the drawn-in exterior air using a centrifugal force has been developed. Compared to a conventional dust bag, the cyclone dust collecting apparatus is relatively permanent and clean, so the cyclone dust collecting apparatus is more widely used.
Generally, in the conventional cyclone dust collecting apparatus, a cyclone chamber in which the drawn-in air is whirled and a contaminant collecting chamber in which contaminants separated from the drawn-in air by centrifugal force are collected are formed as one space. In this case, contaminants collected in the contaminant collecting chamber are scattered by the air flow, and the contaminants are then discharged along with the air being discharged from the dust collecting apparatus. In addition, when the position of the vacuum is changed, contaminants collected in the contaminant collecting chamber may flow out from the dust collecting apparatus. Thus, the conventional dust collecting apparatus has a problem: deteriorating dust collection efficiency due to this outflow of contaminants.